skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump and allies prepare to take power after a decisive win over Harris; Advocates continue to fight for Medicaid expansion despite election setback; Some Louisiana residents eligible for broader health coverage; MA educators, parents celebrate the end of MCAS graduation requirement.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris concedes, but promises to 'fight on' in a speech at Howard University. Republicans celebrate a potential red sweep, though a House majority is still uncertain. And a statehood mandate gains support on Puerto Rico.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Abortion care can be five minutes away in California or 11 hours for women in Texas, rural living proves a mixed blessing for veterans, an ancient technique could curtail climate-change wildfires, and escape divisive politics on World Kindness Day.

NH Youths Mentor Peers for Better Mental-Health Outcomes

play audio
Play

Friday, March 29, 2019   

CONCORD, N.H. – Stigma around substance abuse, mental-health issues and suicide can make those between the ages of 18 and 25 reluctant to share their stories – but experts in New Hampshire say the state's peer-to-peer counseling program is effective.

Studies show many young adults are aware of the relationship between substance use and a sense of hopelessness. And for some, that combination can create mental-health symptoms and even increase their suicide risk, according the state's Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services.

The Chief of Prevention and Education Services for the agency, Jill Burke, says when a counselor is a peer, they can create a "safe space" because life's transitions and stressors are similar.

"What we have found about this particular population is that they don't speak in terms of stigma and shame,” says Burke. “They are very open and very genuine with one another, and they want to talk about these issues."

Burke says the Young Adult Connect Initiative through the state's National Alliance on Mental Illness trains those ages 18 to 25 how to talk to others and identify risk.

In the past few days, two students and a parent traumatized by school shooting deaths took their own lives, which mental-health experts say demonstrates the lasting grief that can accompany suicide.

America's rate of suicide has increased dramatically in recent years, making it the 10th-leading cause of death.

Ann Duckless, community education and prevention specialist with NAMI New Hampshire, says young people who join the organization's Connect program to learn peer-to-peer counseling often recognize the problem in their school or workplace and want to be part of the solution.

She adds that "trust" makes a huge difference.

"I think there's a very big disconnect with adults in terms of adults not being there to mentor them in the workplace, or not giving them their fair share of credit and their value added to the workplace," says Duckless.

More than two dozen young adults have participated in the three-hour training to become peer-to-peer counselors, funded through a Partnership for Success Grant, that includes participants from 13 state public health networks.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
City governments are strengthening financial security for families through reimagined debt-collection practices, equitable ability-to-pay processes and increased access to financial empowerment services. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Young people convicted of crimes in Pueblo can now avoid serious and long-lasting consequences when they are unable to pay fines or victim restitution…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin experienced its first election using the state's new competitive political maps, and experts said it made a significant difference in …

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota voters this week signed off on giving a longer shelf life to a funding tool helping protect the state's natural resources and its backers se…


Protestors rallied for Medicaid expansion at the Kansas Statehouse in March. (Lacey Kennett/Alliance for a Healthy Kansas)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Health-care advocates are vowing to continue their fight to expand Medicaid in Kansas - despite this week's election, which expanded the Republican …

Social Issues

play sound

Once homeless and suffering from addictions himself, Joplin's mayor now leads a crusade to help others overcome the same hardships. About 53,000 …

California voters rejected the latest effort to raise the minimum wage statewide and to allow cities to enact local rent control. (IcemanJ/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

California political analysts say inflation and voter confusion contributed to the failure of propositions to raise the minimum wage and allow stronge…

Social Issues

play sound

Advocates of criminal-justice reform warn the passage of Proposition 36 will mean a sharp reduction in funds to anti-crime initiatives. The measure …

Social Issues

play sound

Donald Trump's victory in the race for the White House was again aided by wins in rural states such as Nebraska. While other contributing factors …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021